Ways Forward 7

That was one of the reasons behind the formation of the development.coop. Unfortunately only a minority of the CDBs joined up, and even less got stuck in to building it. Thus it has now changed course a little with a new mission being promoted by Alex Lawrie. It is however already in existence, with legal structure, bank account, DUNS No. VAT Reg. etc. and is very much member controlled.

What's the new mission? I can't see anything on the website.

It's to develop a network of co-operative hubs. Best to speak to Alex Lawrie direct [email protected] as the mission is being developed by the new Board of Directors in consultation with members

Sounds like I should chip in at this point - with the new board yet to have its first meeting, I couldn't say that there is a new mission. I rather like @alexbird 's pithy summary above, but the text I came up with for a possible new rulebook was a bit more generic: "develop, advise and support co-operative and mutual businesses, and to grow the co-operative economy".
I feel that this is broad enough to cover @graham2 's vision of an apex body for CD workers, but @alexbird is quite right to say that DC is not in any sense able to present itself as a body representative of the CD community. I'd still say it's a better bet than setting up yet another talking shop though... we have an adequate supply of those.

Thanks Alex. It does sound to me as if if could potentially meet the brief.

However I wouldn't want to be misrespresented: I don't see what I'm talking about in any way as an 'apex body'. This is a term that I have a strong dislike for as it has all sorts of implications that, for me at least, don't sit comfortably with my vision of a collaborative network. Apex bodies are symbols for me of the failure of the co-operative movement to move or collaborate, a Victorian mindset that is doomed to failure in a high velocity digitally networked 21st century environment.

Sorry Graham - I stand corrected.

Why not a national CDA in England (or the UK).

Gets captured by the hierarchy ideologues and misses the point. Both CDS Scotland and WCC Wales promote Employee Ownerships under the name of worker coops. They dont seem to understand the difference. Not surprising since both organisations are management hierarchies with no concept of collective self-organisation.
A national CDA is likely to be the same.
This is not just my political prejudice. Collective self-organisation is probably the future of business and hierarchical authority an obsolete soft technology.

CoopsUK increasingly does the job itself rather than represent its members. It is taking cooperative developmental work that should be done by its members (because it needs the money to support its hierarchical structure). If I was a politicians civil servant looking for a quick 'good enough' fix to satisfy my master, I would pay CoopsUK to do the job.
NI has nothing. No CDA or CoopsUK presence.
The last national CDA (1980s) soaked up most of the cooperative development money but merely counted statistics and wined and dined politicians. It was such a bad example that ICOM (national worker coop association) lobbied for it to be wound up.
The Cooperative Union (national consumer coops association) was a wining and dining culture anyway.

ICOM produced studies that showed that where there was a local CDA there were many more local worker coops, clusters, in which coops supported each other. There was clearly a synergy. This effect and the coops died away after the CDAs lost their funding and either closed or switched to social enterprise development ( which the Blair government funded in preference to coop development).

Local CDAs had establishment costs (office, manager, receptionist) but they meant there was a coop presence in most large towns.
Us oldies know which local CDAs were the most effective and which not. So we could come up with a model that is likely to be effective locally This does not preclude national self-organisation as well eg a national cooperators peer support network. (Barefoot practitioners).

The Cooperative Enterprise Hub was a cost effective CD scheme (better than any other IMO). Admin costs were very low and most of the money went to CD workers. Its big fault was a lack of funding for follow up ( we mostly had to do that pro bono) and no easy way to provide mentoring (which all start up businesses need). Quality control was also poor due to the lack of admin funding. But I would love to see CEH2.

So Alex there is, in my opinion, a role for a central organising hub for local CDAs, Is that Coops UKs CD forum or is it the Dev Coop or what? Something new?

I'll admit I've not read this whole thread, but I am interested in the discussion about the role of Co-operatives UK in national co-op development. I think I understand the points @bobcan and @graham2 . We've pragmatically gone into a gap and secured funding for co-op development, and there is a balance to be made between what is kept centrally for resources and websites, and what is channelled out in direct support (some of which via local advisers). Whether this is being done as effectively as it could be is always a question (and always will be).

I'm more interested in why you don't think it isn't possible to work within the existing structure rather than create yet another one. Co-ops UK is member owned, and i'm interested in the dynamic of us/them with it as an entity, why can't it be changed?

Won't the best solution be one reached through discourse between the extremes of centralisation and hierarchy / de-centralisation and anarchy?

Thanks John. Good that you've pitched in here. Re-reading my earlier post I think my key point is that Co-operatives UK is not wholly focussed on co-operative development, and in my view the lead body that is driving a cooperative development agenda nationally needs that focus. I give credit to Co-operatives UK for what it has done and continues to do in this space. But because it has a broader agenda it is my belief that it is constrained in what it can do. Of course I'm looking at the whole thing from my particular viewpoint, and I recognise that I don't have clear 360 degree vision, so I'm very open to discussion on this. I recognise that a key strength of Co-operatives UK's position is that it exists, and carries some gravitas. Perhaps the optimal solution is a semi-autonomous business unit of Co-operatives UK that can benefit from and leverage all the good bits, whilst remaining distinct and wholly focussed on the job in hand?

I've scanned up the thread and whilst I see mixed opinions on whether a national CDA would work, I haven;t seen any explicit suggestion that Co-operatives UK shouldn't have a role in UK co-op development. It may be that a national CDA accountable to the sector could be the CD Forum with resource from CUK?